Introduction
One of the words that have dominated the internet in recent years is "The Metaverse" and except you've been living under a rock, you've definitely come across the word a few times. You are also probably wondering what exactly the metaverse is and why everyone is going off about it. Well I have written this article to break it down in the simplest way I can and I hope it serves that purpose for you.
The metaverse is one of those buzzwords that makes you think about tech and the guys at Silicon Valley; maybe you even think about the blockchain too; or maybe you just think about virtual reality and augmented reality (and all other forms of realities really). Either way, you are probably right.
Origin
The word metaverse is a combination of the words 'meta' (meaning beyond) and 'universe'. Roughly put, the metaverse presents an idea of a universe outside what we know currently.
The earliest usage of the word has been credited to Neal Stephenson's 1992 sci-fi novel, "Snow Crash". The novel presents the metaverse as a world run by private corporations and which thrives on technologies such as virtual reality and digital currencies, etc.
Between 1992 and now, several companies have attempted to build metaverse-like products most especially in the gaming world. Big tech companies like Microsoft, Nvidia, Epic and so on, have invested greatly in building products that can be likened to the idea of the metaverse. But the one that most likely caught your attention in recent times is Facebook changing its name to Meta to demonstrate its commitment to the development of this new world.
What The Metaverse Is
The metaverse is a 3D-virtual world that allows for the interaction of its users who are represented by avatars in a virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) kind of interface. If you play games, you definitely know what I am talking about. But more than just interacting with each other as in a game, the metaverse is believed to be a future iteration of the internet, only this time in 3D forms and all the more immersive.
What this means is that you (your avatar actually) can simply enter into this virtual world and interact with it and the others users like you are really there. This can be achieved by using virtual reality headsets and augmented reality glasses. Platforms like SecondLife explain this idea of a virtual world to a great extent; also, movies like Ready Player One; and games like Decentraland.
But even beyond gaming and movies, the metaverse is believed to be an evolution of the internet. So simply think of everything you can do on the internet currently and imagine doing them in an immersive virtual world: from chatting with friends, to having online meetings, to shopping online, to visiting new locations and a whole lot more! It sounds huge but it also has the potential to bring lots of positives and negatives.
The Potential Positives
The outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic forced us all to stay within the safety of our homes and find the virtual alternatives to most of our lifestyle activities. This period saw a rise in virtual interactions leveraging the internet such as online meetings, remote work and online shopping. This was not without significant changes to our lifestyles because even when it was safe to go out, most of us simply preferred the remote life. This triggered the wave of the metaverse and all it has to offer.
With the metaverse, we can have classes or work meetings with everyone present as their respective avatars but physically miles away from each other. You could go into your favourite stores in the metaverse and shop for your needs. You could visit new locations and explore the sights and even go on dates, all from your bed. Yes, that is really how immersive it gets. It feels like you are actually there. Without doubts, this would be beneficial to the world of work and human interactions as we can largely overcome the barriers of distance; making work easy and very fluid.
The Challenges
1. Interoperability Concerns: One of the major challenges of the metaverse is one I call the 'problem of interoperability'. As we all know, several companies are taking a shot at building a metaverse but the issue is that no one company can build the metaverse as Mark Zuckerberg rightly acknowledged. The users of the metaverse access it through their avatars and it would be a lot of work to own different avatars for different platforms. For instance, you have just seen an ad on the Facebook metaverse and you would need to make a purchase through the Samsung metaverse, if you own two different avatars for these two platforms, it would be near impossible to transfer your history as you are a different person on either. Hence it is very important to have one decentralised metaverse, just as we have the internet today. The blockchain may be able to solve this issue through ownership of NFTs, thereby promoting a unified digital identity.
2. Data Safety and Cybercrimes: Having to live in a virtual world such as the metaverse would require our personal data such as biometrics and behavioural patterns for optimal experience. This however, puts us at risk of big companies profiteering off our information; potential hacks and security breach. There is also a big possibility of increase in cybercrimes and cyberbullying, for instance, there has been some reports of sexual assault in the metaverse.
3. Health and Social Concerns: The metaverse, as beautiful as it sounds, has the potential to affect our lives negatively. Given its very immersive nature, we are at risk of going into it and spending so much time in there that we forget how to live in our own real world and how to interact with actual people. This could lead to poor physical human relationships, unhealthy diet choices and even depression. We already deal with cases of internet addiction, having an internet that lets you 'live' in it would most likely lead to even more addiction issues
Conclusion
Despite all the concerns stated, the metaverse does not exist yet and it would most likely take a few good years before it arrives. Until then, a lot of work needs to go into fixing these issues and clearing up these gray areas.
Got any thoughts about the metaverse? Please share below...